Vacation 2016: Little Sahara State Park

Location: Little Sahara State Park, near Waynoka, OK

Date: 8/2/2016

Fun Facts: Little Sahara is not a desert, it was created by sand deposits from Cimarron River; It is famous for dune buggy riding...which we didn't do, of course. 

This park was only tentatively on our agenda, but the existence of the state parks passport system and an extra hour or two of time put it on the radar.  The park ranger here was slightly less excited to see us, but did have a live rattle snake rattling away from the front desk... he also gave us the passport stickers we were missing from Gloss Mountain State Park.  He was less good at directions so we drove around some rather run down picnic/camp areas for awhile before seeking out more help in finding the overlook. 

Here we are walking up the winding, beautiful path to the overlook complete with nearly stormy Oklahoma sky. 

Panorama from the outlook --- yes, the dunes are strangely far away and kind of small looking --- it is weird. No idea why the outlook is so far from the thing we're looking towards.  Brent and I think this may be a situation where grass/forest is taking over the dunes.

Can you see them? 

Ok, here is a more zoomed in view.  There were a bunch of telescopes where you can see all the tracks on the dunes from the dune buggies.  The dunes are 25 to 75 feet tall for reference. 

This was the last stop on the trip and the kids were a bit punchy.  They were having a great time in their own way though. 

The telescopes intended for those in wheelchairs are also the perfect height for 4 year olds!

We observed, discussed, and pondered if dune buggy riding is something we might do if the park were open longer.  We did get to watch some other people on dune buggies. I am told there are 1600 acres of dunes... apparently not in sight?

So, we made our own sand fun. M create this sand cake with shiny rocks and sticks for candles (hint, her birthday is this week). 

E joined in the fun.  The sand was delightfully soft. 

 There were lots of beautiful wildflowers  - most of them seemed to be yellow.  It also smelled distinctly of sage.

And then we were off for a 2.25 hour drive home through the land of oil wells and wind mills.  The drive happens to be about the length of Hamilton so we listened to that one more time and everyone was happy, if tired. 

Vacation 2016: Alabaster Caverns State Park

Location: Alabaster Caverns State Park, near Freedom, OK

Date: 8/2/2016

Fun Facts - 330 stairs on the 3/4 mile long tour, only one of 3 caves with black alabaster, no stalagmites/tights so you can touch everything, my grandpa visited on his senior class trip and ran through it in the dark.  This last fact is insane after having walked through with lights and having had the lights turned off only briefly. 

Price: Tours are free for those under age 6,  $7 for kids 6-12, $10 for those 13-61, $8 for those over 62

This is our only photo as cameras/phones are not allowed in the cave to keep tours moving along and safe.  The tour guide did begin the tour with showing E a few sleeping bats, which was adorable. 

Photo via of Travel OK

The kids' two requests for vacation were lots of swimming and caves.  Done.  The caves were perfect for kids. The tour is 45 minutes and happens ever hour.  It moves a long with not that much talking and you can touch everything *(rare for caves).  There are cool lights, hand rails, and lots of slippery floors.  They loved it and so did we. 

Photo via Travel OK

 These are called George and Martha Washington's bath tubs.  Our Hamilton obsessed kids thought that was great.  The bath tubs were created by swirling water.  The caves really reinforce the power of water and time.

Photo via Travel OK

You can see some of the water coming through here.  There were lots of cool shapes and facts about Selenite/alabaster.  We bought a piece of selenite as our lone souvenir of vacation and the kids love handling it. I am so glad we made the trip. The caves were an awesome experience and the kids are now full of interesting mineral facts and excited about more cave exploring in the future.  This was B's favorite stop of the trip. 

Here is a video about the caves from Travel OK

Here is the historic Waynoka train depot where we stopped for lunch when we sadly discovered the German restaurant I'd been hoping to try is closed on Tuesdays.... 

4th Lake Fun 2016

 We spent a lovely two days at the lake last weekend with my siblings, their families, my mom and the occasional uncle or cousin.  There was a lot of this - hanging out on the dock, swimming, kayaking, chatting, fishing, and eating.

 B kayaked by himself for the first time.  He loved it!  Thanks to Able & Kari for bringing the kayaks. We all loved them and they are perfect for the lake set up!  Hooray!

 Uncle Zach led most of the fishing endeavors.  He is a great teacher and came prepared with lots of crickets.

 This was M's biggest fishing catch of the day.  it is a great place to fish as you pretty much catch something quickly with every catch.  We release them back too after looking them over carefully.

 Grandma brought a bunch of new floates, which the little boys particularly enjoyed.

 There were a few minor injuries like splinters and stickers, but we fixed them all right up.

 Audra led the making of these awesome family shirts while I was away in San Francisco.  Each has its own hashtag and they made for very cute pictures!

 It took a couple tries, but here are my awesome kids.

 There was a now traditional fish fry, led mostly by Able & Kari with help from Zach.  It was SO So delicious. I had the left overs for the next several meals.

 Swimming at dusk is awesome. The kids stayed up late for the fireworks before bedding down in the new bunk beds that had been made that day by the Uncles.

 We had amazing fireworks and lots of great glow necklaces too.  Two uncles and two of my cousins joined us for the fun.

 Of course there were sparklers and smaller fountains but lots of big fountains too.

The Korenaks and my crew stayed at the lake.  Audra got very little sleep but most of the rest of us got some combination of sleep.  The next day, Audra and I swam laps of the lake in the morning and we all did more of the above (fish, kayak, eat, swim, dive, cannon ball, etc...) until it was time to pack up around 4pm.  A great time was had by all!

Ten on Tuesday

1. LEGOs!  Because we always love them.  E got a gold and white ninjago dragon for his birthday that has been an excellent group project.  B, E, and Brent have all jumped in now and again.  Great to have a place where we can leave things like this out and come back to them.

2.  Speaking of which,  Great Grandpa dropped by and saw the house!!  I wasn't sure that would ever happen and it was a huge surprise. I almost missed saying hi because of all the calls I had, but broke free long enough to talk for a bit. I think he liked it? Hard to say, but glad we got to show him our home.  That also makes two times seeing him in less than a month with two more scheduled in the next month.  Hooray!

 3.  Love this photo - we close down the pool one evening recently. We're not swimming two times a day EVERY day any more, just most of them :)

 4.  M is having some swimming confidence issues that ended her swim meet early on Monday with just full body sobbing. Her coach is doing great with her and we have a joint strategy going in to Saturday's meet.  I believe she will swim two different races Saturday morning... if the plan works?  This "balking" tendency of our kids is super frustrating and nearly inexplicable, but we continue to try and work through it.  B has made it largely to the other side so we know it is possible!  We'll keep being positive and encouraging, but also keep making them try "hard things."

 5.  This guy is loving pool time and getting slightly more adventurous.  Overall, he is kind of emo.  Lots more tears than a few months ago, but also amazing snuggles.  We're hanging in there as snuggles always win.  The otter snuggles in Finding Dory are basically E & my spirit animal so we're good.

 6.  The oh, so comfy, best reading couch ever has arrived.  I realized at some point that I built my own blue room, just like my grandparents, but this one encourages using the furniture and curling up on the couch a bit more.  The kids and the baby sitter spend most of their time in this room as it keeps the noise away from the office.  They seem to be having a good time and I'm glad it is finally pretty much furnished and very comfortable.

 7. E went to VBS with Zane last week.  He "might" have been two young, but I think had a great time and occasionally tells us random things he learned after the fact even though he wasn't very forth coming during the actual week.  Zane, however, went also and was full of information so we got the gist.

 8.  We did a lot of things for Zane's birthday including dinner at Tucker's, the Finding Dory movie, and the big Harry Potter party.  it was tons of fun and their party decorations were, as always, completely on point. I feel we may need to step up our game slightly for M's party.... or have Audra and Zane just make us some decorations?

 9.  I had purple hair for my Tonks costume and kind of loved it.  This is also pretty much my face while my job has been trying to figure out whether or not I should come to DC and where I am most needed.  Just hanging in there and rolling with whatever.  Looks like no DC this month, just San Francisco beginning on Saturday as planned.

10.  Yes, one more swimming picture.  Here, B is lined up to begin the breast stroke.  He hadn't thought he was competing and maybe kind of hoped he wasn't as he isn't very confident in this stroke. The coach told him at race time that he was in and gave him a quick reminder on the pool deck about how the stroke works.  He did great! He went right ahead, jumped in, and won his heat. I am so insanely proud of him for pushing through his fears  and doing it anyway.  Such a great life skill.  Swim team is being very good for him.  He isn't the fastest by any measure, but is getting better every day, trying hard, and conquering his nerves to just go for it.  Great moment for him and for us. 

Swimming through June 2016

Every June we double down on swim lessons.  We sometimes take them at other times of the year, but in June, we focus.  This year, that process is much better due to the existence of a neighborhood swim team.  M & B have team practice 4 days a week for nearly an hour.  Then there are weekly swim meets.  It is awesome and they are improving SO much it is incredible.  E is taking swim lessons once a week at the Y and it is a disaster.  Last year his lessons were also pretty much a disaster.  That said, the older kids used to be much the same in the early years and love it now so we shall be patient.

 First day of swim team - we begin with basics. For M, basics begin with how to put on goggles :)

 So kids 5 and up are in various levels of team/lessons.  Kids younger than that and parents or baby sitters sit around and watch.  Kids older than 10 swim earlier in the morning.  The team has about 40ish people and is awesome.  GO Swordfish!

 E rather likes watching swim lessons.  This particular day he was wearing his robe, PJ top, and tshirt -- it was probably 80 degrees... I have no idea, but wasn't fighting that particular battle.

 On the third day of swim team, we also went swimming at Great Grandpa's cabin with our cousins and Grandma.  Which included diving lessons and lots of fun.

 Then we went swimming a third time at the pool on our way home when we stopped to pick up our OTP swim bracelets (long story).

 The next day was E's first lesson and it began so well.  This has been the only happy moment for E... and his parents, but it was adorable?

 In addition to lessons, we go swimming at the pool probably at least 4 days a week.  We usually stay just over an hour.  They love it and seem never to tire of going.

 B apparently does not have a lot of plans to wear non-swimwear this summer. He puts it on first ting for swim team and rarely takes it off before his bath.  He requested, nay, urgently begged for his first speedo for the swim meet.  Brent and I stiffled our laughter and bought him long, sort of tight racing shorts.  He loves it? Who  would have guessed.

 We often mistime our visits to coincide with the start of the hourly safety break so there is some sitting around.

 Why yes, there are swim team shirts!  M had horse camp last week and thus was not competing in the swim meet as she had not practiced (and admittedly is probably still not "race ready").  She SO wanted to be in the water, but looked great on the sidelines and kept me informed about what was going on while I worked in the concession stand for the meet.

 The day of the first meet, we left the house about 7:10 to make it to the pool for the 7:20ish team meet and warm up.

 B competed in freestyle and back stroke.  He won his back stroke heat, but fared less well in freestyle.  Brent sadly missed the first two races taking E to his "lesson."

He seemed to enjoy racing and was not nearly as nervous as I would have guessed.  So grown up all of a sudden.  He is a very confident swimmer now and his kick is probably better than mine already!  (I did beat him in a short race Wednesday, but who knows if I will for much longer....)

Luckily, to everyone's surprise, B swam in a freestyle relay at the end.  His relay team finished second and he got his very first swimming ribbon.  The swim meet lasted about 3.5 hours from warm up to completion.  There are four more this season.  Two of them are at our neighborhood pool and two are not.  The final meet is at the Y for the city championships.

Right now swimming both with the team and for fun in the afternoons is super popular.  We'll see if it continues into the hotter part of the summer, but right now it is great fun.  I am so glad they get to try this all out, make new friends, build a skill, and have fun together.



(Ps - M would like to add that their team swimming suits arrived today so now they are set for the next competition.  B's team speedo is substantially tighter than the one we purchased.  He still loves it.  )